Christie: Blame RNC for long primary

By Alexander Burns

02/14/12 01:32 PM EST

The New Jersey governor said out in the open today what more than a few Mitt Romney supporters have complained about less publicly: that Romney is up against a primary calendar that was practically designed to create a long, draining nomination fight. Via MJ Lee:

As he dismissed speculation of a brokered convention, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hinted Tuesday that the Republican Party only has itself to blame for a drawn out primary process.

“The fact is, this is what the Republican Party rules set up. We decided to go from winner-take-all to proportional, and as a result, you’re going to have a much longer run here. … So the rules are working the way the rules were intended to work by the folks in the RNC. We voted against that rule, by the way, in New Jersey,” Christie told reporters at a press conference.

Plenty of Republicans, including more than a few Romney backers, have worried for more than a year now that the RNC- and DNC-approved 2012 calendar would produce a drawn-out primary fight unless a strong front-runner ended the race in January.

Super Tuesday looks like the next potential choke point. If Romney can't close the deal then, it's easier to see the campaign going on two more months than not.